Participants of the study were composed of about 4,000
women and men who were followed for more than 15 years, conducting eyes tests
and recording their levels of exercise. They were aged 43 to 86 and were
assessed every five years starting in 1988. Considering other factors like age,
weight, and blood fat levels, those participants who were active lowered their
chances in developing AMD by up to 70% when compared to those who barely had
any exercise. Those who regularly walk were found to have lowered their chances
to 30%.
But how much exercise is enough? The U.S. Department of Agriculture has recommended
90 minutes every day. This should be enough if you have an active job or walk
during the say but would probably require you to do more if you have a
sedentary lifestyle. It may help if you wear a pedometer, just to know how much
you are walking. You can also try other forms of exercise such as cycling,
golf, gardening, swimming, and other sports activities. Cleaning your house can
even be of great help.
So how much does exercise to help eye health? It is a little too hard to tell exactly how exercise
exactly affects eye health but here are some facts to give you some idea:
- Exercise can lower eye pressure helping to reduce the risk of glaucoma.
- Exercise can help prevent half of the cases of type 2 diabetes, a known risk for significant vision loss from diabetic retinopathy.
- Exercise improves the health of the cardiovascular system by lowering triglycerides and increasing HDL levels. Macular degeneration has been known to be caused by some factors of heart disease.
- Exercise can make us less likely to perform risk taking activities which can damage our health as well as that of others.
If you or someone you know has questions about exercise,
macular degeneration or AMD and eye health please feel free to call Alabama
Eye & Cataract Center in Birmingham at 205-930-0930, visit Alabama Eye &
Cataract Center or facebook.com/michelsonlaservision.
Michelson Laser Vision and
Alabama Eye & Cataract Center are leading eye care centers in Birmingham
staffed by a team of specialists including eye doctors who are fellowship
trained cornea specialists and cataract and lens implant specialists-all board
certified Ophthalmologists & Corneal Specialists-as well as Optometrists,
Opticians, technical and administrative staff who provide eye examinations for
adults and children, cataract surgery and intraocular lens implants (IOL), laser
eye surgery such as LASIK for laser vision correction, diagnosis and treatment
of cornea disease including cornea transplants, care for diseases of the retina
including diabetes and age related macular degeneration and diagnosis and
treatment of glaucoma and fitting of eyeglasses and eyewear.
